LIBERTARIAN DIDN’T “SWING” BATTLEGROUND STATES TOWARD BARACK OBAMA
Former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico – the Libertarian Party’s nominee for the presidency – did not cost Mitt Romney the White House.
In fact third party candidates barely registered as a blip on the national radar in the 2012 election, a sad commentary on the state of the political debate in our country. In the pivotal swing state of Ohio, third party candidates (led by Johnson) received just 1.7 percent of the vote – which was less than U.S. President Barack Obama’s 1.9 percent margin of victory.
In Virginia, third party candidates got 1.4 percent of the vote – less than half of Obama’s three-point margin of victory.
Only in Florida did third party support – at 0.9 percent – outnumber Obama’s margin of victory (0.5 percent).
Still, even if Romney had captured the Sunshine State’s 29 electoral votes he would have still fallen well shy of the 270 votes needed to claim victory.
This website endorsed Johnson’s longshot bid for one simple reason – he was the only candidate in the race who had a record of protecting our tax dollars. That’s the same reason we endorsed U.S. Rep. Ron Paul in the 2012 Republican presidential primary race.
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16 comments
Face it FITS. Nate Silver is da man.
You’re correct Pappy.
Nate called it in ’08 and he called it in ’12.
He IS da man.
Dang it Sic Willie, you got your Gary Johnson article out before me. I like yours better, so I will just delete mine and comment on yours..
I’m surprised the doofus got any votes at all – but you’re right, Mitt beat Mitt, Johnson had nothing to do with it (or anything else important for that matter).
Well, perhaps the numbers aren’t strong enough to have swayed any battleground states, but let’s not forget the libertarians who just figured they wouldn’t vote at all, but may have voted for a better Republican.
I think that if you combined the actual libertarian vote, and the depressed libertarian vote that didn’t show up, you have a statistically significant group that very well could have helped defeat the President in 2012.
It’s a bad idea for Republicans to ignore this group any longer.
Right on man.
The loss on Tuesday was not due to Gary Johnson but was SOLID PROOF that the majority of Americans are Greecians! I don’t think there’s any way but through hell for this nation. This is proof that GOP is over now and no way back. Libertarian party I wish would take over where the GOP has misserably failed. I think the Libertarian party can surge after this, but again what I said above, the majority of greecians don’t want the libertians anymore than they want the GOP to threaten their dear socialism either!
Paul Ryan was/is the spoiler. Mittsie lost the race when he chose a reich-wing Ayn Rand nutcase for a running mate.
The U.S. is a middle of the road nation. Most of us LIKE the social, educational and environmental programs.
Ideologues on both sides serve only to provoke thought.
Most normal people would never vote for such as Ryan (and, don’t get your hopes up for Rancid Paul, either). The women have plans for that race as well.
And, BTW, where is “Kingmaker” DEMented today? Guess health care wasn’t Obama’s Waterloo after all.
I voted for Johnson because I could not bring myself to vote for 0bama (goes without saying) and could not bring myself to vote for another neocon globalist piece of shit. The Republican Party has offered up too much shit and no substance for Presidential elections since Reagan left office.
I knew Johnson didn’t have a chance, but if Romney had one (or Obama, as it were), I can take comfort in saying I did not support the one in office when things start going seriously to hell. It sounds stupid, but may help me sleep better at night, even with one eye open.
Always safe to go with a proven loser. Such as Tom Davis did with Ron Paul. That way you avoid actually having to display any form of judgement, discernment, responsibility, or courage. It’s kind of like those mock elections held in elementary school. Everybody thinks its cute but at the end of the day nobody really gives a fuck.
Gary who??
What if… you add up all the Gary Johnson votes with the Ron Paul write-ins (when they are officially counted) in the swing states…. now that will be interesting to see.
Johnson should have come out in support of the mythical Jasper port. He would have carried South Cackalack.
The right seems to assume Libertarians are just Republicans in disguise and would vote Republican blindly. Libertarians are fiscal conservatives and socially liberal, which by judging the Ryan budget, the Bush administration, and the current House, the Republicans are not. You know the difference between the Obama budget and the House recommendation this year? $3.8 trillion and $3.5 trillion. Even worse, the deficit difference is even narrower at $1.1 trillion vs $1 trillion. Great conservatism there. On the social side of things, Libertarians support a lack of government intervention in people’s lives and choices, including social contracts such as marriage and drug use. So as a Libertarian I am supposed to vote for someone who is going to keep spending our nation into oblivion and doesn’t align with my social view of small government?
Romney was his own spoiler. He alienated millions of Ron Paul Republicans, who vowed to write in Ron Paul, vote for Gary Johnson, vote for President Obama, or not vote at all. The numbers tell the story.
I am a 50 year old former Republican. I became an active Libertarian some 30 years ago (1982) when Reagan allowed the penny to be debased an severed any pretense of sound money. Even though things were good then, by comparison, the writing was on the wall. Sadly every prediction I made has come to pass. I have run as and supported Libertarians including Dr. Paul in hope to avoid the inevitable collapse of our economy and the destruction of our liberty. History clearly indicates our destiny if we continue this course. To the Rs and Ds alike in the very near future you may wish for the pitiful condition of Greece, for they, unlike us have not sown enemies on every corner of the planet. Don’t hate Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, or me because we tried to warn you. We have told you the truth not for our own aggrandizement but because we love this country. You should, in fact, pray that we do not go John Galt and leave you to the consequences of your own evil and stupid deeds. ~Liberty!